The Role of ESG Disclosure in Enhancing Corporate Decision-Making: Evidence from Emerging Markets

Abstract

Extensive research on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues has been conducted, while established economies have implemented implications for emerging markets, which have largely been ignored and require more attention. The main objective of this study is to view the impact of ESG and corporate governance disclosure on corporate decision-making in the developing world, in addition to analyzing the current state of ESG reporting and its effect on corporate governance, performance, and investor behavior to illustrate its pluses and minuses when applied in different sectors. To achieve the study objectives, a lot of relevant literature was collected and reviewed; especially articles from 2015 to 2025 were searched by researchers in numerous academic databases, such as Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. The study findings revealed that emerging-market companies place ever-larger importance on ESG disclosures when making decisions. Present challenges in ESG reporting include a variety of reporting standards issued by many different organizations, low regulatory compliance requirements, and a lack of specialized research into this account. It also revealed that good ESG reporting enhances financial performance and investor behavior through long-term sustainability and risk reduction. The research paper suggested additional research to examine the processes and strategies of family firms in disclosing ESG and to evaluate the benefits of ESG disclosures in achieving social development objectives in the developing world